The UK’s largest greeting card wholesaler, Budget Greeting Cards, has moved into e-commerce with its new trade website, which offers more than 7,000 different greeting card, giftwrap and party products, with more being added daily.
BGC’s previous focus has been on wholesaling products to retailers from its nine cash and carry branches located throughout the UK and Ireland. The brand new website will mean BGC can broaden its geographical reach and better serve its customers’ needs, offering a next day delivery service for weekday orders placed before 3pm.
Budget’s serious move into online was mooted in March last year when Canadian-based private equity company, Ardenton Capital acquired a 51% in the business from founders Paul and Martin Lavery. (BGS).
“The success of our website will inform the future of our business,” said Mike Spence, operations manager of Budget Greeting Cards. “It will signal potential new sites for additional branches as well as highlight product trends.”
“Our initial focus was to upload our own exclusive ranges of everyday greeting cards and giftwrappings, but we will be adding seasonal ranges as well as those from wholesale publishers,” he continued. “We will be further expanding the selection of party products as well as adding a comprehensive selection of stationery and giftware.”
Mike has been instrumental in the development of the new e-commerce platform and is delighted by the take-up from customers already, with 600 clicking on the site within half an hour of it going live last Friday.
“We are getting the first batch of orders out now,” Mike confirmed. “We still believe that customers will continue to come into the branches for the bulk of their orders, but the web allows them to top up in between visits.”
Pricing will remain the same across the branches and the website. Budget is currently only offering online ordering to UK customers, but the plan is to extend the service to export customers in the future.
